Create Your Own Country

Establish your own country. People have been doing this for decades. They pronounce kingship and plant crowns on their heads to rule in perpetuity. Don't laugh. These people are serious. Such "countries" have currencies made, issue stamps and visas, and even produce constitutions. People can become "citizens" on the Internet.

Why do they establish new countries? Some do it because they are fed up with the country they live in, others to highlight an issue of contention. Doing it just for laughs or getting an income from tourism is not uncommon.

Recently a meeting of micronations took place at a Sydney university. They discussed their place in The Lonely Planet Guide to Home-Made Nations. The meeting went well. There were Laughs aplenty. Just imagine how the leaders were decked out with flowing robes, scepters and crowns.

There is a problem, however. It is an illusion of independence. The "countries" are still part of the larger countries they are in. If the leader works, he/she has to pay income tax to the larger nation. Furthermore, a tiny new nation pays rates and land taxes to the local council.